Evidence for oxidatively modified lipid-protein complexes in endometrium and endometriosis

Objective: To evaluate for the presence of oxidatively modified lipid-protein complexes in endometriosis and endometrium of women with endometriosis and controls. Design: Controlled clinical study. Setting: Academic tertiary care center. Patient(s): Women undergoing surgery for pelvic pain, infertility, endometriosis, or tubal ligation controls. Intervention(s): Biopsy of endometrium and endometriosis. Main Outcome Measure(s): Staining with antibodies to oxidatively modified lipid proteins (HNE-7, MDA2), macrophages (HAM-56), and muscle cell actin (HHF-35). Result(s): Both endometrium and endometriosis tissues contain stromal cells that immunostain with HAM-56 and show immunostaining (both intracellular and extracellular) with HNE-7 and MDA2. Some endometriotic implants show patchy staining with HHF-35. Endometrium was devoid of staining with HHF-35. Control staining with nonimmune sera in both tissues was also devoid of staining. Conclusion(s): These data strongly implicate the occurrence of oxidative stress in endometriosis tissue. These data also suggest that oxidative modification is a normal physiological process in endometrium. (C)1998 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.